Amor

Click

"We're here," My mom said, pointing to the house. We were moving and just arrived at the new house. It was one o those simple, common houses. A porch, balcony, three bedrooms a guest room, two bathrooms, a kitchen, and an attic and a basement. We started unpacking once we finished checking the house.

I went to the room that I claimed was mine and started to unpack the boxes that the movers brought in. "Hey, mom? Where do I put these?" I asked her. I went and showed her the boxes in my arms. They were my childhood toys.

"You can put them in the attic," she said. I went to the retractable stairs leading to the attic and started climbing. However, not seeing where I was going due to the boxes piled on top of each other, I missed the last step and tripped. I managed to right myself but not before dropping the boxes and spilling the contents all over the attic floor.

"You alright there?" my mom called out.

"Yeah, I just tripped. I'll fix this in a sec," I replied. I hastily picked up the toys and noticed something at the corner of the attic. There was a box with the word "click" in neat calligraphy on it. Once I finished packing the toys again, I went to check the box. It looked hastily taped, and had dried liquid- were those drops of water? On it. I opened the box and sifted through the contents. It contained photographs, yellowed and old black and white ones. At the back of each photo was a writing that looked like a letter, in the same neat calligraphy of the box. I decided to take it to my room to see it properly later. For now, I'll finish unpacking.

Once I finished unpacking, I went to the kitchen to grab some snacks. It was only a few hours after lunch, and I just wanted something to eat while checking the photographs. When I returned to my room I set the sandwich I made on my bedside table and started looking at the pictures. Most of them were of a girl, in different places and different poses. Some were of a boy, and there were others that had both of them smiling broadly at the camera. I check each one at the back and see that before each letter was a date, and the earliest was on 1934. Some pictures looked older than others, and there were other pictures that you could tell were taken from better cameras. seems like the whoever took the pictures also kept up with the new releases of cameras. I read the earliest one, the one that was dated 1934, first.

January 12, 1934

To Adelina. This was the first picture I ever took of you. Do you remember when we first met? You told me I looked stupid lugging a large camera everywhere and taking random pictures. I laughed it off and left. That was actually a great day for me since I got a good picture of a beautiful lady.

That was what was written on the back. I didn't know who the man was, as there was no name at the end of the letter, but I couldn't help laughing at the guy's antics. In front was the girl, laughing. She looked so alive, with flowing hair up to her shoulders blowing in the wind and her eyes twinkling. I searched for the next photo. It was the girl again, sitting on a balcony.

March 8, 1934

Adelina, look at how you look in this photograph. You were reading then, and I saw you and recognized you from what happened a few months ago. I decided to take the risk and took another photograph, but this one was difficult since I had to remove the flash so you won't see me. We didn't really know each other then, very much unlike now.

The next was dated a week after, and it was the girl with a man. He wore a trenchcoat and had smile wrinkles.

March 14, 1934

To Adelina. This was the first photograph we had together. I finally had the courage to ask for a photograph with the beautiful girl that I saw before, the one who mocked me for taking photos. We introduced ourselves, and that was where I first learned your name.

Aww, that was cute. This guy actually wrote a timeline for the pictures. I've already seen three, and there were around 8 or so left. The next three were smudged with liquid, probably tears. They were too smudged to be read, but the pictures were still visible, along with the dates.

May 20, 1934. This was of the boy and girl with their arms linked. They were smiling at the camera, and the girl's free hand was waving.

June 2, 1934. This one only had the boy. He was sleeping on a sofa with his mouth open, possibly snoring.

June 8, 1934. This had both of them again, and it looked like the girl didn't like being photographed and the boy was moving too much, blurring him a little.

By this time I was hungry and decided to take a bite off my sandwich before continuing reading.

June 15, 1934

Adelina. This one I took after I asked you to be mine. I couldn't get over your smile, and how you quickly answered yes. I was actually crying inside, but I didn't want to show it to you.

The girl was sitting at a table with some dishes and candles in front of her. She was full of happiness. I flipped on to the next one.

July 28, 1934

To my love, Adelina. This photograph was taken after our first fight. Do you still remember why we fought? Because I do. You wanted to buy me a new camera, but neither of us had money. You insisted anyway, but I led you away from there.

The picture was a mess. Cluttered objects in a room, and a door that was closed. It looked sad, even when I wasn't there. I could feel the emotion in the photo. The next one was of the two of them, and the girl was blooming and full of life in a wedding dress. The boy looked sharp in a suit.

June 22, 1938

To my life, Adelina. This was the happiest moment of my life. Even though I am quite sure I could've taken a better picture, especially with the camera we bought, the one I named Click. You made me the happiest man alive when you agreed to marry me. I love you.

I shuffled through his photos again, and yes, I could tell that he could probably take a better photo. I looked at the next one and saw that it was the girl, who looked a little older yet more beautiful, holding a baby.

April 10, 1939

To my life, Adelina. This was another one of the happiest moments of my life. When we had John, our son. I remember crying when I heard his voice for the first time, cradling him in my arms. Our little angel, our bundle of joy. I took this one using Click.

And then the last picture. It was of a gravestone, though the words were a little blurry, I could tell it was Adelina's.

September 2, 1972

To Adelina, my love, and my life. I will never forget you. The moments we shared, the happiness and the low times. Our son, John, and our daughter, Samantha are all grown up now. I miss you, but I know that I'll be with you soon. I can feel it.

That was the last picture. The story behind these photos was so great I had to drop them and lay on my bed, looking at the ceiling. I wonder, would I ever have something like this?